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SENIOR PRODUCER/NEWS DESK PRODUCER/CHRISTAL SMITH
Christal is a public radio journalist with experience on both local and national news magazine programs. Most recently she's
been a producer for Weekend America heard on 140 NPR stations nationwide. She has produced television news segments for NBC,
NHK (Japan), and Canal Plus (France). Her interest in Tibet began during a year spent working for an NGO in Rajasthan. While
in India, she traveled to Nepal where she met a number of Tibetan refugees. After returning to the US, she got involved with
the Tibet support community and has remained active in the cause of Tibet for over a decade, particularly as a media advisor.
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ANCHOR/
YANGZOM BRAUEN
Yangzom grew up in Switzerland, the daughter of a Swiss father and Tibetan mother. Her father's work as an anthropologist
took the family to live in India, Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. Yangzom started tap dancing as a kid and went on to attend University
of Acting as well as modeling. While serving as president of Tibetan Youth Congress in Europe she was arrested in Moscow during
an IOC protest of the Beijing Olympics. The media exposure she received from this incident, particularly from being an actress,
impressed on her how an acting career could help the Tibetan cause. In 2002, she visited Los Angeles were she now resides.
She has been in a number of features and TV productions in Europe plus the sci-fi movie 'Aeon Flux' with Charlize Theron and
the upcoming Al Pacino film 'Salomaybe?'.
Yangzom's MySpace page
yangzombrauen.com
CONTRIBUTING PRODUCER/ LHAKPA KYIZOM
LHAKPA KYIZOM was born
in Dharamsala, India, where she attended the Tibetan Childrens' Village school. She graduated with an MA in Communications
from Madras Christian College. She is currently a Training/ Teaching Officer in the Active Non-Violence Education Center [ANEC]
a Tibetan NGO dedicated to educational programs on the principles and strategies of non-violence to bring about social change.
CONTRIBUTING PRODUCER/
SARAH WILKINSON 
Sarah is a native Californian who has recently returned after living in New York and Australia,
where she served on the board of the Tibetan Friendship Group. She completed her Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy from
Middlebury College (graduating cum laude and recipient of the Prize in Philosophy) and a Master's Degree in Secondary
Mathematics Education from Columbia University. In an Eastern Religions class, she discovered how her two passions, philosophy
and mathematics, perfectly merged in the form of Tibetan Buddhism. Sarah pursued this interest during her travels through
Asia, paying particular attention to the monasteries and Tibetan Buddhist communities of Ladakh and Dharamsala, India. Later
she studied Tibetan Buddhism with teachers such as Robert Thurman and Gehlek Rimpoche (whose teachings she transcribes on
a regular basis). In 2002, Sarah's article 'Loving Thy Neighbor As Thyself: A Buddhist Interpretation' was published
in The Living Pulpit magazine.
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EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/
REBECCA NOVICK
Rebecca's activism with regard to Tibet began in 1991 when she attended a demonstration against the Chinese occupation. With
her husband, she went on to write, produce, and co-direct the award-winning Tibet human rights documentary 'Strange Spirit:
One Country's Occupation'. Over the years she has conducted hundreds of interviews with exiled Tibetans, particularly with
elders, recording their stories and experiences for posterity. She has written and edited a number of books on Tibetan Buddhism
and culture, and has produced and edited numerous radio documentaries. Before founding The Tibet Connection, Rebecca co-hosted
and produced the weekly radio program 'Experience Talks'. She is currently based in the Tibetan community of Dharamsala, India,
as The Tibet Connection's Asia Correspondent.
xxx
Julie was born and raised in Los Angeles, but took to the road early, and has lived in Paris, Edinburgh, London and New York.
She considers her resettlement back in LA part of an ongoing artistic exploration. She is an artist (painter, composer/ singer/
performer, writer), a graduate of Cooper Union (NY) and California Institute of the Arts. While at Cal Arts, she served on
the Intercultural Arts committee which promoted world music and art. In addition, she received a Durfee Foundation grant
to travel to the Altai Mountains of China in search of throat singers. She has also traveled to Outer Mongolia, Central
America, India, Tibet and Europe. She has helped produce music events around LA, including the World Festival of Sacred Music,
the Americas, EARJAM and more recently, Call & Response, a benefit for Tibetan monks presenting Western and Tibetan music
on one stage at REDCAT theatre. As an writer and editor, she has conducted interviews and done articles for various local
yoga and Buddhist publications and worked on the book 'Portraits of Tibetan Buddhist Masters' (University of California Press,
2005) and most recently was co-producer and writer/editor on 'Living Wisdom with the Dalai Lama' (Sounds True, 2006).
Julie's MySpace page
CONTRIBUTING PRODUCER/TECHNICAL ADVISOR/RONNY NOVICK 
Ronny has worked to educate the public about Tibet through media since 1991. He has created presentations with the International
Documentary Association and Stanford University's film program with his multiple award-winning documentary 'Strange Spirit:
One Country's Occupation'. He has co-produced and edited syndicated television programs about Tibet as well as PSAs and promotional
videos for Tibetan aid project and support groups. After founding his own video production company, 10 Directions, he focused
on developing cutting-edge digital media for non-profits, work that has earned him a number of awards. In 2004, he traveled
to India at the request of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to film the stories of exiled Tibetans. He is a regular member of film
crews for the Dalai Lama's teachings and has edited and produced these teachings for the public in a variety of media.
10 Directions Productions
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NEWS DESK PRODUCER/
PEMA DHONDUP
Pema is a Tibetan, born and raised in India by refugee parents who left their homeland after the Chinese occupation of Tibet
in 1959. He was one of the first Tibetans to enter the field of journalism, creating the first and only Tibetan news video
magazine 'Sargyur' (The News). An instant hit within the exiled Tibetan community, the Dalai Lama praised the efforts of the
Sargyur team in their inaugural issue. Pema went on to initiate and become the first president of the Press Club of Tibet,
and organized the first International Convention of Tibetan Journalists. After six years of video production making documentaries,
promos, institutional films and TV series, Pema came to Los Angeles and attended USC film school on a Fulbright scholarship.
He wrote, produced and directed 'We're No Monks', the first Tibetan digital feature film. This factual story about Tibetan
youth in exile sends the message to the younger generation to resist the temptation to take up violence in the struggle for
freedom.
clearmirrorpictures.com
CHIEF ENGINEER/
KEN LEE
Ken is the recording engineer at Blueberry Buddha Recording Studios, and has been featured in various magazines, including
EQ, Drum!, Future Music, and others. He is also a musician, travel photographer and teacher. His music has been played on
Felicity, various MTV programs, BBC, Radio Moscow, NPR, Costa Rica Independent Radio Network, KCRW, KXLU, XM Radio, Museo
de Naturaleza Y Cultura in Mexico, and various independent films, and has been featured in Spin, Alternative Press, and others.
His photos of Aung San Suu Kyi and Kashmir have appeared in numerous magazines and books. His activism with Tibet began shortly
after he visited Tibetan refugees in Mussoorie, India in 1988. Moved by their stories, he returned home and began composing
a CD of music, "Sangsara," and became involved in the local Tibet support movement.
elevenshadows.com
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT/
LISA KELLY
A former president and board member of Los Angeles Friends of Tibet, Lisa became active in the Tibet support movement in 1992.
In addition to helping the Tibet Connection, Lisa works in fund development for Exceptional Children's Foundation, which serves
children and adults with mental disabilities. She is a native of West Virginia, where she worked as a reporter for The Charleston
Gazette until moving to Los Angeles in 1991. Since then, Lisa has written and edited for investment management and educational
software companies and taught computer skills to special-ed students. She has also been involved with Captive Daughters, an
organization working to end sex trafficking. Lisa currently lives in the San Fernando Valley with her boyfriend and their
cats, Willie and Waylon.
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